Free vehicle registration for Victorian apprentices

The Victorian government has announced it will make vehicle registration free for eligible apprentices from July 2023.

The $10 million initiative, included in the Victorian Budget 2023/24, will provide free registration to apprentices if their employer can verify that their vehicle is an essential part of their work.

Apprentices who need their car for work are already entitled to a 50 per cent discount on their vehicle’s registration fee as part of the Trade apprentice registration discount scheme. This was introduced in 2016 to reduce costs for trade apprentices needing to use their own vehicle for work purposes, and expanded to border communities in early 2023 to cover apprentices who live in Victoria but work in New South Wales and South Australia.

Learner and probationary licences and online testing are now also free, while drivers who have not incurred demerit points or committed road safety offences in the three years prior to their licence expiring receive a 25 per cent discount on their renewal.

Eligible apprentices can apply for the free vehicle registration via the myVicRoads portal on the VicRoads website.